Devotion
by sketzocase
Summary: Nightcrawler dies leaving Azazel with a big choice to make.
1. In Matters of Life and Death

If you were to devote yourself to the life of anything less than another life, you're seen as automatically mad. Correct? sLoving a television or a cell phone is completely ridiculous and out of the realm of "normal" behavior for human and mutant alike. Lately, I'd much rather be caring for the cell phone...

It's true to say that I've not always been the best father. I've been absent for my child's entire life it seems.

I put great emphasis on the "seems" part of that statement. Just because I was not physically there doesn't mean I was completely absent, does it? In actuality, there hasn't been a step my child has taken that I have not followed closely.

So of course I heard about the x-men's little 'mishap'. Of course I saw my child's mangled corpse. And of course I devoted myself to bringing him back to health...

The x-men stared at me as if I were crazy. Idiots. I can pass myself off as 'Satan'... there are no limits to my powers.

They were all fawning over that little girl... their 'future'. I suppose they were too blind to even consider the past. They warned me not to go near him, afraid I'd do something barbaric to my own flesh and bloods body. The nerve of these ingrates.

So, yes, for the record, I did steal my son's body. And yes, I did bring it back into another dimension... And no, I don't plan on telling them that they cremated three cement blocks and some lunchmeat.

All of that seemed useless, I know. If I'd told them the truth behind my plan it would have gone so much smoother. Those blasted fools would be thanking me right now... but I didn't. Once again, for the thousandth time in my long, long life span- I did it the 'hard' way.

While I would love to calm all of this 'emotion' on my 'fatherly instincts'- this move of heroism was brought on by Kurt's step mother's constant nagging. She knew I could bring him back and demanded it of me as often as she could upon hearing of his death.

So I obliged her. Even planned on taking care of poor Kurt as he recovers. (This was decided upon seeing his corpse… the condition in which my son died was must…. Odd. And recovering from it will be a strain, which should be interesting.)

All of this brings me to my current position, holding Kurt firmly to the bed as his body thrashing uncontrollably around. My power beats his heart, moves his blood, and turns his organs slowly back on- there's not a single part of this "Hero" that isn't under my manipulation. His memories, emotions, and fears- all of it was within my knowledge now. The amount of power I'm pumping into him is almost enough to overwhelm me. It is completely possible for me to just switch bodies with Kurt. I could posses his currently empty shell with the very littlest of a push- scary isn't it?

Instead I send all of this rushing power into Kurt's body, searching around until I found just the tiniest spark of "Kurt" left. By gripping this with the pure energy I was forcing into the younger man, I managed to call back the rest of the 'soul' as some would call it. Slowly, painfully slowly, my son re-inhabited his own body, muscle aching, ligaments popping… and I'm sure when he wakes up tomorrow, there will be a killer headache.

I suppose the most rewarding part of this experience would be Kurt opening his own eyes and breathing for himself… but seeing as this is Kurt and he is very rightly his mother's son, he ruins this abruptly by glaring at me. "What have you done?" He asks around a moan, before his body sags back from exhaustion and he passes out.

I have to laugh at that… all that work. All that strain. All I get is "what have you done?" Saved your sorry ass from being burned inside a coffin… you're so very welcome.

"Did it work?" Margali questions from behind me, having just walked into my dark room.

Standing to my feet, I stretch a few times before answering the woman with a nod. "He'll need to be taken care of for a few weeks…"

"In which environment?"

"This one I suppose."

She nods, looking surprisingly more tired than before. "I'll stay and help you out then." Margali smirks. "Kurt can be quite a handful when he wants to be."

I nod in acceptance,too tired to speak.

I suppose this work and effort is why 'resurrections' are so highly frowned upon in the first place.


	2. In Family and Religious Matters

I didn't sleep last night. Instead of those eight wonderful hours of rest, I had to keep checking in on Kurt- making sure his heart was beating correctly and that his lungs hadn't exploded in the surge of power I'd forced into them. I checked for signs of swollen organs, pushing and prodding- I even managed to get a few responses from the otherwise unconscious x-man. Still… for the best 'medical' terminology I can conger the only way I can describe my son at the moment is 'broken." It seriously looks like someone has tried to smash his chest into pieces.

The human body- even one as mutated as Kurt's- is such a frail, fragile thing.

Despite all of this, Kurt stabilized around three this morning after a few more jolts of energy. I suspect him to be waking on his own soon. If he doesn't, I'll have to repeat the process all over again. And we'll see if he wakes up on the third morning. If he doesn't then…. Well, let's not think about that. There are more pressing matters at hand.

As if drawn by some magnetic force, I find myself back at the door to my own room. Waiting, watching- these actions aren't like me at all, yet I'm here- again, watching the mass of blankets on the bed as if it contained the answer to life itself.

When I'm sure that Kurt isn't awake, I quietly open nudge the door open further, walking over to the bed to check on the 'man' whom I'm trying so hard to restore.

Sadly, Nightcrawler is just as I'd left him- lying on his back with one hand over his head on the pillows and the other flung carelessly across the sheets. From where I'm standing I can see his chest rise and fall, a little faster than normal, granted, but not anything to be alarmed of. Earlier today, I didn't dare to leave the room. For a while, every time I did, taking the power with me, his heart would shut down. It was quite... irritating. So I sat by his side for most of the day, holding his hand and waiting.

The mass of white gauze being used to fill up the hole that still remains in his chest is dark red, meaning that I'll eventually have to get around to changing it out for another. This was the only downside of using my power to restart all of Kurt's organs and such- I couldn't heal him all the way. I fixed the organs of course- his heart was a complete disaster and had to be taken care of first thing- but couldn't heal up the wound all of the way... at least not without his lungs and brain exploding.

The circle of gore on Kurt's chest has a twin marking on his back, though it's smaller and considerably shallower. I suppose this makes sense, seeing, as it wasn't the side the hand was opened in.

"He's out." Margali's voice from beside the bed scared the living shit out of me. She smiled at the result. "And all of his vitals are clear." The pale woman takes a long sip from her wine glass. "Of course, you probably already knew that."

"I guessed as much." Kurt tosses his head a little, face looking pained.

Margali shoots to the side of the bed, tripping over her own feet after one to many 'little sips' of wine. Her hands are automatically on Kurt's face, as if she has to be the first to touch him. "He's moving!" She states the obvious. God... mortals- even the ones I like- are dense at times.

"He shouldn't be." I grumble... leaning over the bed. "Kurt? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, golden eyes open and dark eyebrows clash together in confusion. "Azazel?" Kurt's voice is broken sounding, throat still having to recover from the non-usage. Kurt's been dead for a while now… I'm sure he was expecting some sort of afterlife- and seeing as my son is of the Catholic belief, I'd like to wager he'd be hoping for 'Heaven' as it were. Seeing me, if he still in fact believes that he's dead, would mean the opposite- according to Kurt's 'beliefs', at any rate.

"Yeah." I let him sink back into the ebb and flow of reality- something that is surprisingly hard for the recently risen. "Do you understand what's happened to you son?" Sadly when you bring someone back from the dead, they always have a major case of confusion. It's almost funny, really.

Kurt rocks his head back and forth. "I was dead. I know that- and then there was cold... and a light." His eyes cloud over as he glares at me. "Why am I not dead anymore?"

I spread my arms towards his stepmother and myself. "You're welcome."

"Who says I wanted you to do that!" Kurt's voice rises with anger. "Didn't you even consider what I would have wanted? Why do you-" In the process of sitting up, Kurt manages to overwork his unstable heart. He falls back the pillows clutching at his chest in a frantic panic.

"Easy, son." Margali coos, pulling his hand away from the gauze. "Just breath. You're going to be okay."

Of course he is... after all, if he dies again, I'll just bring him back.

"Explain-" Kurt gasps. "Explain why you did this to me."

I would, but I'm worried poor Kurt's lungs will give out when he bitches at me for it.

"You died, stupidly from being a hero- might I add, so I had your father bring you back." Margali said, running her hand over Kurt's. "I know you're religious, or whatever you call it, but I didn't think you were quite... ready to go, as it were. And when you're father is all powerful... you see my thinking here darling?"

"But-"

Sighing, I interrupt with, "What matters is that you're okay. I'll monitor you for the next few days and then we can work on getting you recovered fully. Then, we can get you back to the x-men- no trouble at all."

"I don't understand-" Kurt's eyes are wide; his poor mind is suffering one hell of a shock.

"You died." I state slowly. "And I made you better. End of story." I look back to his still confused looking face. "Stop beating a dead horse Kurt, you're living again and you need to... well live with it. Maybe even thank you're loving father for sitting by you all this time... do you have any idea how many times I've head to restart your heart, Kurt? A 'thank you' is the least I deserve."

"Thank you for defying the very laws of nature?" Kurt snorts. "I'm going to hell for this. "

"For what?" I ask, smiling a little. "Having an amazing father? I'm sure God would understand that..."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "You aren't supposed to come back to life, Azazel. It's blasphemous and wrong."

Religion- it's reasoning makes me want to vomit. "I brought you back to life, not crucified you." I reach over to Margali, taking her cup and quickly draining the wine from it, much to her displeasure. "Therefore- since there was no direct correlation to the Bible there is no blasphemy. It's win, win."

Kurt balls his fist in his hair, a sign of him controlling some violent urge that he couldn't follow through with. "You're not listening to me."

"I am." I grab the same fist and press it gently into the mattress. "I just think that you're being ridiculous and ungrateful."

"Vas? I'm ungrateful! You've gone against everything I've spent my whole life believing in within the last twenty four hours without consulting me!"

"You were DEAD!" I bellow back. "There was no 'consulting' you!"

"Then why the hell did you bring me BACK?"

"Azazel! Kurt!" Margali interrupts us. "Can't we just be happy that we're all together again?"

Kurt closes his eyes, lying back against the bed. "I just can't believe that all of this happened…" He shudders as if in memory. "It hurt so badly." With this Kurt looks down to the bandages coating his chest. "Still does."

"I couldn't heal your wound." I explain through gritted teeth. "I had to focus my energy on bringing you back to life and healing your heart. The rest was secondary."

"I can't fight like this." Kurt groans.

"Fight?" I laugh, staring at Margali, who's smirking. "He's alive for all of five minutes and he wants to get back in that pointless fight."

Margali strokes the hair from his face. "You're not going anywhere until we decide that you're well enough." She holds a hand up, "And you don't want to test on this son, we have the means and power to keep you here as long as need be."

"I'm in the middle of a war!" Kurt tries to reason, but the woman just shakes her head.

"The x-men think you're dead, sweetie. They already cremated your body… or so they thought." The woman gets s a sly expression on her face. "Last I heard, they'd already gone and gotten another teleporter…"

She's saying this to hurt him, I know it. I can read it on her mind and features… and from the look on Kurt's face, I'd say it's working. But, in Margali's defense, if he's hurt emotionally maybe he'll stick around long enough for us to get him healed physically.

"You're lying, right?" Kurt's face looked so pained that it hurt me as well.

"Darling, you hadn't even been dead a day." Margali starts shaking her head in 'sympathy'. "You're much better off with your father and I, trust me."

This seems cruel… I should at least tell him of the thoughtful and promising things his friends said at his funeral… I'm sure that once I bring Kurt back, they'll be over joyed.

Instead, I sit in silence as my son battles with the painful emotions that are plainly playing across his face. He turns those yellow eyes to me. "You won't make me stay any longer than I need to?"

"I promise." I reply, pushing him back to the bed. "You should rest now Kurt. It's going to be a long, tedious recovery process… sleep will help."

"Yes sir." Kurt sounds sad… sullen almost.

"Hey…" Margali, always the one to play the 'coddling mother', pulls the blankets up to Kurt's neck, stroking them down his sides. "Don't be sad, Kurt. We'll get you well again, and you can go straight back to them."

The blue 'man' shakes his head and closes his eyes, breathing swallowing out just as he slips back into sleep.

"That was cruel." I remark when I'm sure Kurt's out.

Margali snorts. "I've seen how he is when receiving medical care. Having him a little depressed is better to do it with." She smiles. "Kurt got the flu when he was seven…. Ironically at the same time, his dog 'ran away' until he got better." She spreads her hands. "Simply put, if he's depressed, Kurt stays put longer."

"But won't the x-men-"

Margali waves me off. "Go and do something 'important'. I've got doctoring to do and no time for your questioning of my motherhood tactics.

A shame she needs "tactics" at all…. I think a belt works just as well.

Who knows? If Kurt's as bad as Margali says he is, we might get to test this theory.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt's mind was in panic when he awoke. The distress was enough to get my attention, which of course, was annoying under any set of given circumstances.

"Do you need me to explain this again?" I groan, not wanting to have to go through this conversation yet AGAIN. (We've already had it twice…. How confusing can death really be?)

Kurt cuts his eyes to the left. "You're still here."

I snort, rising from my chair. "You're in my house, in my bed for that matter. Try being polite. I know for a fact that you were raised better than this."

"I need to go back to the x-men." Kurt says urgently, ignoring my stab at him. "There has to be something I can do to help."

"Help them by getting better." I urge.

"This is ridiculous." Kurt moaned, tossing a little on the bed. "None of this should have happened… why didn't she move? Why didn't I move?"

I shrug. " It could be worse. Be thankful that I can heal you up to the point that I have… if you were missing any body parts, they'd have stayed that way."

"You're telling me to be thankful now?" Kurt asks, voice exasperated with a small undertone of hysteria coating it.

Not wanting another argument, I stand up- childishly noting that this is an action that Kurt can't do at the moment. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, child. What has happened has happened. We're moving past that now."

When Kurt doesn't respond, I continue with, "My job was to bring you back and make sure that you recover." I pick up several empty wine glasses. "I've brought you back and you're currently recovering. I'd say I'm doing my job pretty well, wouldn't you?"

Kurt nods his head, still not speaking.

Feeling a little guilty for bringing more grief upon the child, I offer Kurt my hand. "Would you like to try and sit up for a while?"

Nightcrawler's whole body shook as he took the hand. "I-can't." He gasps. "Hurts… hurts bad."

I lower him back to the bed, smiling a little. "That will happen…. Next time you die, let's try not doing it by means of impaling."

Kurt actually laughs, a more the welcomed sound. "I wouldn't call it impaled…"

"While you think on that, I think I'll go and get some breakfast for you." I stop at the door, turning around. "By the way, I took your 'belongings' as well." I lift the large black bag and put it on the bed beside him. "In case you want to try and find something entertaining to do while you recover."

Kurt seems to be smirking at that bit of information.

While leaving, I can see Kurt contently sighing, and adjusting himself. He may have been mad… but he was coping. He might even be happy when this is over. Really, no matter what you believe in- no one is happy with death. It's not a joyous occasion, it's not a pleasant occasion… and it's definitely not one many people get to go through and recover- Kurt seems to be- for the moment when he thinks I'm not looking- just happy to be alive.

And I'll grant him that. Besides something tells me that my church going offspring got a little surprise on 'the other side' that he hadn't been expecting. I suppose I can be a little easier on him…. For the time being anyway.

* * *

"Only things that are easy to eat." Margali orders…again.

"I know."

The woman stands behind me, ever watchful of my motions from over my shoulders. "And it needs to be easy on the stomach, as well."

"I know."

For the thousandth time she checks the tray in front of me, removing a few items. "Make sure you sit him up… I don't think he could handle chocking."

Really… really? The man has a gaping hole through his chest and thinks he can't take chocking? Sighing, I don't answer the woman.

"Azazel?" She questions, voice grating on the last of my nerves. "Make sure he's handling this okay… Kurt can act a little irrationally when he's cornered or scared."

"Got it." I 'port up to the room, happy to just get away from Margali's "knowledge". Unfortunately, Kurt's face shows me that he's not going to be anymore pleasant. Kurt's managed to some how upset himself- again. How this is possible when I took everything 'upsetting' from the room, I'm not sure. That being said, I'm betting this current mood has got something to do with whatever he was involved with upon his death. He's fumbling with something under the covers; obviously trying to keep it hidden from the eye line of the door- apparently he hasn't seen me yet.

"What do you have there Kurt?" I ask, making the man jump.

"No- Nothing." He mutters, turning his head away from me.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you using your.. .cell phone?" I think that's the word… "Texting is the 'cool' thing right now, isn't it?" This I know from my youngest son, Nils, who seems unable to put the damn device down.

Kurt blushes, staring down.

"Give me your phone." I place the tray beside him on the bed and hold my hand out.

"I wasn't texting." Kurt's still blushing as he passes me his phone.

"Oh you weren't?" Sure enough, the black screen has several indications of sent "texts". "Kurt they think you're dead- no one is going to respond."

Kurt nods a little solemnly. "I just want to know what's happened…"

I pocket Kurt's phone, staring at him in disbelief. "You need to let this x-men thing go. You did you're job son, they were proud of you. Leave it there."

"But I'm alive!" He states frantically. "I should be heading back to their side!"

"You can't even get out of bed. How are you going to be of any use to them?"

"I could-"

Smiling at the fallen hero's useless stubbornness I pass the tray to Kurt, propping him up with pillows. "You couldn't and you know it." I pass him the spoon. "Think you can feed yourself?"

"Of course I can." Kurt seems offended that I asked, but then he doesn't really now the extent to the shock his system's been forced to accept. Again- this is my fault, of course. But I won't tell him this. Let him think it's got something to do with his heart or an infection… the last thing I need is him bitching me out every time I come in the room.

Kurt tries to follow his promise up but fails miserably. After making a mess, he sinks into the pillows. "What is wrong with me!" His voice is pained. "I can't move, I can't walk- I can't even feed myself! Why did you bring me back to this? I'm an invalid!"

"This is all temporary." I laugh this off, hoping that I'm right. "Here," A cloth appears in my hand at my desire, "Let me help you." I clean Kurt up while he desperately avoids my eyes.

When I'm finished, he whispers "Danke." As if it would have killed him to say it out loud.

"Do you want some help eating… Or do you want to skip it for the time being?"

Kurt stared at the spoon. I know he won't want my help- he's too proud. But I figured I'd ask, at any rate he needs to eat.

"How about I go and get Margali, and she can help you- if you need it, that is."

Kurt seems to like this idea more… Though I haven't a clue why. If you really think about it, I'm flesh and blood. Margali was more like a 'nanny', if you will. Why he would feel more comfortable accepting her help than mine is confusing to me.

As I get up from the bed, the door pushes inward, revealing Margali. Spying again… the nerve of this woman. She smiles, sheepishly almost. "I thought you would need some help."

Shaking my head, I pass the tray to her. "He can't lift his arms well and doesn't want my help."

Margali snorts. "Of course he doesn't. This is," She motions to the scene at hand and then to herself. "A mother's job."

I stand there for a few seconds, watching the woman work with Kurt. She had a way with Nightcrawler that I didn't think possible. He wasn't whining, wasn't fighting with her- the woman was a sorceress in more than one way.

* * *

"He's fed." Margali says, sounding happy.

I nod, not looking up from Kurt's phone in my hands.

The woman stands over my shoulder for a moment before groaning. "Azazel- you didn't."

"Didn't what?"

"You're invading Kurt's privacy!" She states, pointing to the phone. "There may be things in there that he doesn't want you to see."

"So? I'm his father, it's my right." Rummaging through the pictures I can't help but laugh at the normality of them. For a super hero's phone, it seems so ordinary. I'd been expecting something 'uncanny'.

"Are you quite done?"

I would tell this annoying pest of a female off but the plastic device in my hands starts ringing.

I look at Margali, who looks back at me, looking confused. "Don't answer that." She warns.

"It says its Rogue… as in Raven's step daughter?" I ask the other woman.

"That doesn't make sense. She was at the funeral- she should know better."

Shrugging I wait for the ringing to stop. "Maybe she wants to hear his voice mail or something…" Margali continues to ponder.

A few seconds go by before the phone starts to ring again. "It's Rogue again."

"Good God." Margali groans. "The woman must be either really pained or really intoxicated."

Once the phone stops ringing, it starts vibrating. "What's she doing now?"

Margali takes the phone and presses a few buttons. "Azazel…" she hands the black plastic to me.

The screen says, "Answer the damn phone. You got a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"How does she know that Kurt's alive?" Margali asks.

"I caught Kurt texting earlier… I guess it was to Rogue."

"Did you check?"

"No…"

The woman snatches the phone from me, flipping through the messages again. "He texted her twice… but it seems that she's the only one he contacted. He didn't say anything about being brought back to life…" She smiles a little. "Odd that he would not mention that."

"Will this be a problem?" I ask just a little curious. Let's face it; I'm almost two thousand years old. I'll admit that I enjoy my far share of drama brought on by others. Rogue bursting down the doors would be interesting to say the least.

"It will be annoying." Margali says as the phone starts ringing again. "Do we answer it?"

"Give it to me." When she does, I push the green 'talk button'. "Hello?"

The voice on the other line falters. "You're not Kurt…"

"No, I am not."

The southern woman takes a deep breath. "Do you think this is funny? Some kind of sick, twisted, joke!"

"I assure you… " I have to think about what to call her… surely "Rogue" isn't the woman's real name. Drawing a blank- I decide to use it anyway." Rogue, this is nothing of the sort."

"You send texts out pretending to be my dead brother, and that's not some twisted joke?"

"Kurt sent those messages and he would have answered the phone when you called if I had not taken it from him." I'm not giving this woman any information- she's got to figure it out on her own… again, I'll admit it- I have an extreme boredom that is only slacked by drama and fucking with other people.

"Where did you get this phone?" She demands angrily.

"From Kurt." I reply, smiling at Margali's angered expression. Across the room the woman mouths 'Hang up.' I suppose she has a point… I probably should.

"And why would he give you his phone?"

Laughing into the receiver, I answer, "You haven't been listening to me Rogue. I already answered that question."

"Oh my God." The woman gasps. "Azazel? How the hell did you get Kurt's phone? Don't tell me you're involved in thi-" There's a slight pause. "You brought him back- didn't you? You know Kurt wouldn't have-"

"Goodbye." I hang up quickly. "She's starting to know a little too much…. We'll need to take care of her before she tells the other x-men and I've got Xavier busting down my door."

Margali raises her hands in the air, waving them to get my attention. "You've already grave robbed from the x-men… you don't want to tack kid napping onto that- trust me."

"Well it's either that or explain to the x-men why I stole one of their owns dead body… and personally, I don't like explaining things that put me in a bad light."

The woman raises her eyebrow, staring at me like I've sprouted a second head. "So you would rather kidnap an innocent woman than explain to the x-men that you stole Kurt's body from them?"

"Correct."

Once again the phone rings, rolling my eyes, I answer it. "Yes, Rogue." I state bored with the situation already.

"First off, you can't hang up on me." The woman berates. "That's awfully rude."

"Please…" I laugh.

"Secondly, I want to see him. Too make sure you haven't turned him into some sort of zombie."

This girl is so much like Raven; it's almost too much. "I can arrange that." I laugh, hanging up the phone. "Margali dear?" My voice is as smooth as I can make it.

"Yes?" Her eyes are wide as she answers.

"I need a portal."

* * *

"As you can see, my dear, your brother is fine." I see her glancing at his gauzed up chest, and laugh. "Well almost fine. We're working on that."

"I'd feel better if I could speak to him."

"Ah." I motion to Kurt's semi unconscious body. "But because of the energy required for him to heal, Kurt's become impossible to wake when he's in these states." Ushering the woman out of the door I finish with, "He needs his rest."

The woman in front of me is as pale as death itself. Her brown hair intersected by twin streaks of white on both sides. Her shirt clings to her hips and breasts perfectly… God it's been a while. Fortunately this woman has already pissed me off- so she's safe. That and the whole 'touch my skin and die' thing.

"I suppose you don't want to me to tell the others about this, right?"

"I don't believe that you'll have that chance." I say smirking.

"What do you mean?"

I shrug. "I don't have the time nor patience to send you back at the moment… so you're stuck here. Enjoy."

"Stuck here?" Angry green eyes glare at me. "You're joking, right?"

"No." I stretch, popping the kinks that have settled in my bones from all of this power usage. There's the thing most people won't tell you- being all-powerful and using that power are two different matters. It's true- my powers seem to be unlimited. If I tried hard enough I could bend the very fabric of time and space… but I don't. Mainly because of how utterly draining it is on my physical body. Just bringing Kurt back and healing him half way has given me a severe discomfort of sorts.

"Azazel!" She yells after me as I start to walk down the main hallway. "Come back here!"

I turn around, still walking, and stare at the woman. "Keep your voice down, people are trying to sleep."

"I don't care! You can't bring me to this dimension and then leave me here! It's unethical-" She stops mid- sentence, staring at me.

I smile at her questioning of my ethics. "You'll go home when Kurt goes home. End of story."

I wonder if there's any dinner left… God I'm starving. I didn't realize how bad until just now.

"Azazel, we can talk about this rationally." Rogue says, audibly inhaling before she spoke. Hmm… I guess she and her mother have more in common than I'd thought- Raven did the same thing when speaking to me.

In the kitchen there's several items left on the counters… Jillian not cleaning up after herself apparently. I move around as quietly as I can mange, trying to find something un-repulsive that doesn't involve me actually cooking…

"Are you trying to ignore me?" The woman demands.

Since she's the only one speaking, I'd say I'm succeeding at ignoring her. Mortals are so foolish sometimes. Rogue prattles on and on… talking and talking; eventually I just tune her out completely.

"Move." I state when I turn around.

"What-"

"Move." I motion to the closet behind her. "You're in the way."

"Have you heard a single word I've been saying to you?"

I shrug, physically forcing her aside so I can dig in the pantry. "You haven't been saying anything that remotely affects me."

"It all affects you!" The southern woman states in disbelief. "Take me home, this instant or I'll-"

"Touch my skin and you, yourself, will be affected by your own powers." I warn. "Try it if you want… It doesn't bother me one way or the other."

"How do you-"

"A word of caution though, if you pass out in my kitchen I will not move you and I can not be held liable for what one of the many other inhabitants of this home does to you."

Rogue groans, sitting down at the table across the room from me. "Mama was right.. you're an ass."

I bow to the woman, keeping my face serious. "I try."


	4. Chapter 4

Rogue had to go with Margali for the time being… mainly because she was as annoying and I was having the undying urge to slit her pretty little throat. Thank the powers that be that Margali understood my often psychotic urges and how to protect those around me from them.

Kurt isn't aware that Raven's er.. 'daughter' is here. Nor do I plan on telling him. I'm sure that once he's a little better and up and moving, he'll find her and I an play it off as a 'look what I did for you I'm an amazing parent' move. Or she'll run her big mouth and Kurt will be, yet again, angry with me. The later seems more than likely.

"Azazel!" Kurt says, loudly. "I've been talking to you for the last five minutes."

Shaking my head clear, I turn and stare at the younger male, having to look away from the boring spell book in my hand. "And what exactly have you been saying? I wasn't paying attention."

"I was asking where your bathroom was… I'd like to get a shower."

Out of the question. He can't stand up for that long. "You're not ready to move around like that." I state going back to the pages of the book in my hand. "Maybe in a few days if you're feeling a little better."

Kurt groans. "I smell like death."

"That will happen." I don't bother looking up from my book. I can tell that he's staring at me with that "fix this" look of his. "There's nothing I can do, Kurt. You're just going to have to deal with it."

"You don't understand… I NEED a bath or something. If I don't get this smell off of me, I will go insane."

God… my son is such a female when it comes to hygiene. "The only way you would be able to take a bath is if I carried you there and bathed you myself. I don't think either of us want that."

Kurt actually seems to be considering this offer… "Azazel." Margali once again barges into my room. "Just bathe him in bed…"

"Out of the question." I snap back, not bothering to look at the woman. "I'm not getting my bed wet so Kurt can smell good."

"Then do what you said- take him into the bathroom and bathe him yourself. You can't expect him to stay filthy like that."

She does have a point…. Kurt's still covered in blood and grime from his battle-apparently when his friends had 'prepared' his body they hadn't wanted to take his x-men uniform off which lead to a lot of grime missed. We managed to get his custom off only after the affects of Rigamortis wore off which is why he's now down to his boxers… that, in retrospect should probably be changed as well. "All right, all right." I slam the book down on the bed, staring at the two. "I'll go and get Kurt cleaned up."

"And you can give me his dirty clothes to get washed up." Margali bosses. "I've looked over your uniform, my dear." She says turning to Kurt. "There's really nothing that can be done for that."

"He'll live." I groan, lifting the small man into the air. "This is going to be a lot more uncomfortable for you than it is for me." I warn. "And if I hear a single compliant…"

Kurt nods, almost frantically.

We walk down the halls towards my master bath in silence. Kurt's apparently feeling embarrassed now… Again- his 'religion' making nudity and such a 'sin'- there fore he's squeamish about it. I don't know how the man thinks he got here. Half my life has been spent fornicating and I'm not any worse off from it. Granted I have a LOT of offspring… but that's not necessarily a bad thing- is it?

In the hall we run into Rogue, who still looks pissed. "Azazel! I need to speak with you."

"Later."

The woman actually stomps her foot. "Now!"

"I don't have the time right now. Get in line behind the five hundred other people who need to talk to me…" I glance over my shoulder at the woman. "And I'll get back to you in the next century or so."

"Is that Rogue?" Kurt asks, sounding more confused than ever.

"No, it isn't Kurt. You're having a pain filled delusion. Close your eyes and don't say anything else for the remainder of our time out of the room."

"Azazel!" Rogue demands. "Don't lie to him!"

"He's my son, I'll tell I'm whatever the hell I want to." Rogue is really, really pissing me off. "Say bye to Rogue Kurt, we've got things to do."

"Azazel!" Kurt demands, trying to fight from my grasp. "Put me down!"

"Azazel!" Rogue's also demanding.

It seems that one too many mortals have learned my name… I ought to go and change it.

Their voices, their arguments- this is too much. I quickly spin on my heel, facing the enraged woman. "No, you can't go home. This is not because I'm kidnapping you, this is not because of any sick little perverted fantasy you seem to think that I have for you- it's just a simply fact. I do not want to send you home- so you're not going." Then I look at Kurt. "And you, son, don't even dare getting mad about her being here. I think it's time that you starting being just a little more respectful and GRATEFUL for what's been done for you."

Both of the x-men stare at me in awe. I take a deep breath and collect myself. "Now, let's go and get you cleaned up Kurt… you reek something awful."

* * *

Kurt's leaning heavily against my arm. I'm certain that he's not liking this idea anymore.

He's drenched, shivering, and I'm pretty sure that raspy sound is his breathing… I suppose what I'm trying to say is that this was a bad idea. Sadly, we're stuck here until I can get his breathing to even out.

Of course his condition wasn't helped by the fact that Rogue felt it her duty to tag along and.. how did she put it, "Make sure I wasn't fucking with his mind or some shit". I'd like to 'fuck' with her mind until it oozed out her ears,but I don't say this.

Kurt breaks me from my thoughts by vomiting into the water… this is a new turn of events that I don't much like. He's already been sick three times and we've only been sitting here for thirty minutes. Rogue says that's a sign that his stomach is starting to function fully. Since I know next to nothing about the digestive track, I'll take her word for it.

"Come here." I sigh, distractedly pulling Kurt from the water. "Now you'll understand that when I say something, I mean it." I chide at him. The blue man doesn't seem to be listening. His eyes are closed as he leans his head against my shoulder. My hand automatically goes to the top portion of his back- supporting him. In the mirror it looks like I'm holding a child… how odd.

"How can you carry him like that?" Rogue questions, wrapping a towel around her younger brothers waist.

I just stare at her.

"Right…" The pale woman amends. "Stupid question."

"You're still breathing, right?" I ask Kurt, feeling his pulse hammer against my skin.

"Trying to." He gasps.

"Hold your breath for a second." I tell Rogue before wrapping my tail around her calf and 'porting the three of us into my room.

The two of us dry Kurt off and get him back under the sheets. I'm hoping that this new position will lend to better breathing…. I really would hate to have to shock his system with him awake- You don't forgive someone for that kind of pain easily and I've already got at least two strikes against me.

* * *

"You didn't have to stay with him." Rogue says, almost gently as we walk down the hallway outside of my room.

"I like to make sure that his vitals are clear when he's sleeping… if they stay that way for the first hour, then chances are that he'll be fine."

The woman nods, looking preoccupied. "You take real good care of him…"

"He's my son." I say like it's self-explanatory.

"But you weren't there for most of his life…" Rogue should talk. Her 'mother' is the same woman who abandoned Kurt in the first place.

I shrug. "It doesn't mean I want to see him murdered."

"Kurt died protecting-"

"A fools dream. A fools hope… bound by a sense of 'honor' to a man who got him killed."

Rogue stares at me blankly. "Scott Summers is a good man."

I raise my hand, stopping her. "I'm not saying he isn't. I just think that he should have backed this x-men thing up years ago."

"What do you mean?"

By now we've reached the stairs that lead into the front room of the castle. Outside the sun is dimly glowing, setting or rising- I'm not sure.

"My child was killed because of a war that man started." I state slowly. "And when I brought him back the only thing he wanted to do was get back into the fight."

"Kurt's just being-"

"Stupid." I supply the word. "Kurt's being stupid. And so are you Rogue… and all of those x-men." Taking a deep breath, I motion to the castle around us. "We were the same. I policed everything. Fought in wars I had no business fighting in… I was a god. And all it got me was the eternal suffering of the very people I was trying to protect."

Rogue stops in her tracks, looking at me in awe. "You're afraid that Kurt will end up like you, aren't you? You're worried that he'll-"

"Mindlessly follow those fools into his own destruction?" I raise an eyebrow. "Yes, my dear. The very thought makes me ill."

"He makes his own decisions just fine." Rogue tries to assure.

"Kurt bases his decisions off of some religion that some mortal is pumping in his head. He's never even taken the time to consider that all of those ideas might not apply to him."

"Heaven and hell?" Rogue asks in confusion.

"Kurt was dead for a week." I explain. "Don't you think that if he was going to 'go' somewhere, he would have?"

The southern woman looks a little distraught. "You mean that Kurt won't…"

"Most likely, if I hadn't to bring him back, Kurt would have eventually resurrected himself or become a ghost…" This must be shocking to the girl.

"Why?"

I sigh into my hand. "Kurt isn't like you Rogue. Even though the same 'defective' gene he shares says he is, he isn't. Nightcrawler was born of … higher things-understand? He's like a demi god living amongst pigs… Death, religion, time- these things don't mean the same to him that they do you." I turn around and face the awe stricken woman. "I've no doubt in my mind, given mine and his mother's powers, that when he reaches the thirty-five, he'll stop aging period. The laws pertaining to him are completely different, and the man doesn't have a clue."

"Kurt's never shown that kind of power before." Rogue says, sounding disbelieving now.

"Kurt restricts the 'dark urges' as he calls them, because of his religion." I make a circular motion with my hands. "See where I'm going with this?"

"So what he thinks is evil…"

"Is just his natural yearning to unleash the rest of his powers." To be honest, I'm glad I can talk to someone about this. It's been pissing me off for years. If he tried, Kurt could be so, so much more than he is. The potential is there.. so ready to be tapped- and he throws it away because it's "evil" or "unclean".

"Have you talked to him about all of this… surely it would put an end to that priest business." Rogue says this like it's an actual option.

I laugh at her. "Him becoming a priest is a slap in the face to all that his family has stood for, for generations upon generations."

Rogue seems to think about this, running her fingers through the white streaks framing her face. "So you are Satan then?"

"No." I laugh again. "I was referring more to the 'no fornication, no magic, no alcohol, don't curse, no killing, no lying,' thing. Our family is really only devoted to two things, neither of which are 'biblical'."

"Which are?" I'll give it to Rogue; she's a good investigator. I've opened up more to her than anyone… and that's saying something.

"Pleasure." I answer walking down the stairs. Hopefully someone is around outside and willing to spar… I feel the need to work off some frustration.

"That's only one." She calls from the top portion of the railing.

"Only one what?" I ask, not bothering to turn around.

"You said you were devoted to two things. Pleasure is only one."

Smirking I reply, "Have a good evening Rogue." And start to head out the door.

"What's the other?" She asks, seriously curious.

"You'll see." I murmur, opening the large doors and stepping outside into the sharp, red-hot breeze that envelopes this hellhole.

* * *

Outside the only person around was the witch… and, from past experiences, I know Margali doesn't enjoy sparring.

So we settled for sitting on a large rock and watching the desolate scenery. "You told Rogue a lot." Margali states, breaking our silence.

"She's technically Kurt's sister. Maybe she can talk some sense into him now that she knows a little."

Margali nods. "He told me that he was upset by the lack of an afterlife…"

"I figured as much. His mother was quite shocked as well…"

"A shame that he'll never experience death like a normal person does…"

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You won't either, my dear."

"That was my choice." Margali waves her hand through the air as if to clear away my statement. "Poor Kurt was just…"

"Born into it."

She nods. "Kurt's really shaken up by it. He thinks he's a demon."

That makes me laugh. "No. demons get to go to hell. That's something. Immortals… inhuman- whatever WE happen to be- do not."

Margali smirks, holding up her seemingly ever-present wine glass. "To no higher powers." She toasts.

I call to my hand my own glass. "To free will."

The woman smiles wider. "God's one and only mistake."


End file.
